[Closed] Second hand, couple of year old, diesel cars - is it worth the risk?

I'd say highish mileage is better, less short trips, but second hand you'll never know how it's been used. Always a risk whatever you buy.

But what is worrying me is the horror stories about diesels on those mileages with very costly issues. Is it a bad idea? or are they just isolated horror stories?

You thinking DPFs and the like? tbh I wouldn't expact them to be any better/worse than a 2nd hand petrol

Higher mileage is better than low. The DPF horror stories are from people who didn't know how to look after them, or weren't told. Turbo failures are far more likely if the car's run low on oil or not regularly serviced; and DMF issues are far more likely if the driver's been rough with the car or thrashed it.

Problem is, you don't know what's happened to a second hand car. However I've read that these things are improving - ten years ago they were fairly new tech and less reliable than they are now.

best I've found is 35K but realistically 45-50k

Any car can give you grief and modern cars can spit out big bills without warning but you really don't have much to fear from the era you're looking at as they're the Common Rail or CR era VAG diesel. Whilst they are the one that famously cheated the emmissions tests in the US, they're fairly robust unlike the earlier PB era engines.

My CR equiped Seat Exeo was bought at 20k miles, it's just gone over 70k miles and it's exactly the same now as when it was new, not "all things considered" it's EXACTLY the same, bar a few scratches because I seem to be an arsehole magnet in supermarkets.

If your Oil reaches the 'low' mark, the dash will light up and tell you to add a litre. If you need a service my god it will tell you. If you're making a trip of over 30mins once a week at over 38mph you won't have any problems with the DPF until it reaches the end of it's normal life - somewhere between 120k and 160k miles. The fly-wheel issues the PD era cars suffered from just doesn't seem to be an issue these days.

IMHO more expensive problems with diesels, ths DPF issue is a crime, ££££ just because you drove primarily around town / short trips.

If you're making a trip of over 30mins once a week at over 38mph you won't have any problems with the DPF

Who knows how the original owner has used the car ? IMHO such a requirement makes a car not fit for purpose.

OP now not all diesels have a DPF and my 2.7tdi did 120,000 trouble free miles and felt almost new when I sold it. So do your research thoroughly (stw can help), a friend had a diesel Galaxy chipped (change engine mgmt) and gets better power and mpg and the car is outstandingly practical. Brilliant family and bike/campaign vehicle.

ths DPF issue is a crime, ££££ just because you drove primarily around town / short trips.

Dealers not explaining it is the crime. Quite possibly an actual crime.

P-Jay - was trying to get in touch with you to see if you want to do some riding - pm me if you like

The age of the car has doubled from the title (2yrs) to the first paragraph (4 yrs)!

How many miles are you doing a year?

With diesels at that age, I'd agree with the others and I'd rather be buying higher rather than lower mileage. They'll be cheaper and if you're do low annual mileage depreciation will be in your favour as well.

50 - 60k car (unless it has a timing chain) you are looking at a big bill straight away to replace the belt.

Timing belt interval is 5 years or 80k miles (I think) on later VWs, 09 onwards. It was 60k on older PD engines because the belt has to drive the injectors as well on those.

P-Jay - was trying to get in touch with you to see if you want to do some riding - pm me if you like

Would love to but .. won't be back in UK till late January and then likely just for a few days for a pre surgery knee appointment. I have zero fitness. I have no car I can put my bike into (goes in back seats of wifes convertible with the roof down or disassembled in the boot) Will check messages. Sorry for all the excuses.

VAG timing belts are a grey area. They seems to change the info and that's covered by the handbook which will give a mileage but caveat it with "information may be updated at a later date".

All you do with the timing belt issue anyway is knock iy off the sales price with justification.

Anyway once bitten twice shy. Even if it says belt done I change the belt and water pump and pulleys when I get a new motor.

Too easy to fill out the service book.

To not buy a car because I needs a timing belt is mental.

Oh and chains often ain't duplex no more and don't last nearly as well as they used to

I think EGR valves are more prone to ****ing up on a diesel as well... so add EGR to DPF! Friend has a Skoda Superb 2.0d and just been hit with an 800 quid bill on an 11/12 plate I think for some EGR related nonsense..

Petrols can bite too mind.. I had a 3 series with a particular liking for injectors around the 55K mark... They were £200/each just for the part and 6 of the little bar stewards to potentially go wrong.

all cars are money pits.

either pay through the nose on a new/lease car or put enough aside a month to cope with ongoing repairs. I put ~£100 a month aside to keep our two running, seems to cover servicing and any unexpected bills.

3 years old and 30k miles ? It'll be on its last legs for sure.

I'm sure we've already done this to death and agreed leasing is the way to go ?

leasing maybe the way to go, but when I have 3 dogs and 2 young children when that vehicle gets returned at the end of the lease I'm going to get screwed for "extra wear and tear".

I intend to keep for at least 5 years. TBH i like the skoda and would be happy to keep that but my wife complains that it's cramped when we go anywhere. (and fair enough she does have a point).

interesting comments on mileage and age, never thought about it as better to go for the higher mileage cars.

Yes but low mileage may be fine as well. I do about 7K a year, but every trip is at least 20 miles, just not many of them. (It sits on the drive most of the time.) You don't know, so you just have to assume the worst.

I have had a few diesel engined cars.

Won't be buying another one again.
The new engines with all the technology to make them pass the emissions testing is just making the engine way to complicated and expensive when it goes wrong.

Leasing is probably the best option, at least it is covered by the manufacturers warranty, and no long term big bill issues.

Had the EGR valve go on my Skoda diesel after 3 years of use. My driving habits changed, so no big mileage.

I'D just steer clear of any diesel unless driving a lot of miles.

Petrol, quieter, cleaner, nicer to drive these days in my opinion.

I went electric , Nissan Leaf, but it's not for everyone, but no cam belt, egr, DMF, or any whirring around bits.
Lovely and quiet as well.

Petrol engined car with a cam chain probably best option for most, and would have an auto.

supersessions9-2 - I was joking, sorry. I live firmly in bangernomics world and have never had a car that was even close to 3yrs old / 35k miles !

Have you considered the Superb in 1.4tsi 'guise? I'm not sure if there are many estates with that engine, but I have the twindoor and it's very spacious in the back (And boot) and I get around 50MPG on a good motorway run or 43MPG on my normal work commute.

I bought an A6 2.5Tdi at 90k, ran it to 180k with no issues. Replaced it with a 2.7Tdi on 98k, ran it to 203k with no issues until the common rail split at 200k - that was entertaining, but only cost a few hundred to fix.

Roof box?

Got one of those already!

Starting to look at superbs. Boot is only fractionally bigger than Octavia but cabin space is a lot better and they come in petrol models.

all cars are money pits.

35k is fine for a three-year-old car IMO - that's about 10,000 miles a year.

You could get an aftermarket warranty if you're worried though?

[b]I went electric [/b], Nissan Leaf, but it's not for everyone, but no cam belt, egr, DMF, [b]or any whirring around bits.
Lovely and quiet as well.[/b]

battery ran out??

Rachel

"all cars are money pits.

No they're not."

Oh they are it's just a case of when it will take your money. Either purchase, the monthly rental on new cars with long warranty , stingy bills for big broken bits or depreciation. Cars will eat your money.

The cheapest car is the one you already have. Depreciation outways all other costs IMHO.

Keep the car you have? What size are the 3 dogs. I use to have a VX Cavalier which took two adults, 3 kids aged 6-12 and two dogs away for a week long holiday.

Or if space is really tight add a roof box as suggested.

If there is a budget for car change start banking some of it every month for when a new car is really needed.

Hmmm. Just depends on the car. You could end up with a decent one or a complete dog.

We seem to have been lucky with our diesel cars....

My old Ibiza was 3yrs old with 24k miles on when I bought it (so had only averaged 8k/year until I bought it). It was the 130bhp 1.9 TDi.
Kept it for almost 10 years and put 250k miles on it in that time. Only engine related issues I had were failed boost pipe connections.....2 of them, I think
It was on original injectors, fuel pump, clutch & DMF, turbo, exhaust......

Current Ibiza is the 140bhp 2 litre diesel - put 65k miles on it now; it's a 12 plate that we bought from a dealer who was using it as a demo....
No issues at all so far....

Both cars are seeing decent mileage though, which probably helps....

interesting comments on mileage and age, never thought about it as better to go for the higher mileage cars.

It isn't.. complete gibberish myth that is to be ignored.

A 2 year old car is still new imo.

As for electrics who knows what the battery replacement cost will be ? Who says an electric motor will go 100,000 miles no problem ?

Looking on the internet for used car [i]advice[/i] is like asking in a doctors waiting room if anyone is feeling a bit rough.
People don't go in there to to report that they are feeling well, so all you'll hear is horror stories; & the same is true of the internet.

There are hundreds of thousands of diesel cars, happily going about their daily business, with no issues at all.
If you were driving 2 miles, from cold, every trip; you'd probably be better off with a petrol.

Buy a diesel.
With a service history.
With a (good) warranty.

^^ This. If diesel cars were fundamentally unreliable no car manufacturer would be in business.

Yes there are horror stories,even with petrol (Rover 1.8 in MG and freelander?).

There are '000s of diesel cars on the road working perfectly.

Yep, every single 3-4 year old diesel is pretty much a break down waiting to happen. You may as well catch the bus...No wait, they're diesel... 😆

I started a thread about my Skoda octavia diesel clutch pedal going to the floor, turns out it was the slave cylinder leaking.
The genius who came up with the idea of putting the slave cylinder inside the gearbox bell housing meaning the gearbox has to to come out needs several slaps.

46000 miles gutted.

Of course, petrols have clutches too, so that's not a diesel specific problem 🙂

If diesel cars were fundamentally unreliable

People aren't saying that. What they are saying is that when a modern diesel breaks down, the cost of the repair(s) can be significantly higher than for a petrol if the failure is with the DPF etc.

Buy new under warranty or old and be prepared to walk away from it.

I bought a 2009 Mondeo estate for 1950 18 months ago. Had already had a clutch and doesn't have a dpf. Driven 35k in it without a hitch and it's probably still worth what I paid for it now.

Car prior was a Saab 9-5 aero. Kept for 3 years without a problem. Cost 2k and sold for £1500 and again bought a well serviced example that had the clutch and flywheel ect already done.

Cars don't have to cost if you are savvy

ref allthe gear

Battery running out...

well yes, you can run out of battery.

and you can run out of diesel or petrol as well.

In fairness, it does need a bit more planning to manage the battery / journey requirements, its not as smple as pulling into a petrol station.

As I said, not for everyone, but it would be for alot of people.

How many people drive more than 65 miles a day every day?

People carriers = HOW EXPENSIVE? This applies to lease, new and second hand...

Yeah. Agree with that. Ridiculously expensive.

I'm going to persuade Mrs supersessions to keep the Octavia for another year or so and then start looking at nearly new skoda kodiaqs.

Never mind that.

P-Jay = Jamba???